Ii: Empire Earth

The explosion was silent. Then reality folded inward. For one disorienting second, Kane saw three skies superimposed: a star-filled night, a nuclear sunset, and a clear blue day. When his vision cleared, the Cathedral was a crater. And standing in its center, unharmed, was a young woman in a white tunic, holding a tablet of clay.

Kane smiled thinly. “Welcome to the Pacific Theater, Lieutenant. Your mission hasn’t changed: kill the enemy. Only now he’s got diesel engines and flak cannons. Adapt.” Empire Earth II

They breached the walls under cover of a P-40 Warhawk strafing run. Inside, chaos reigned: a Grigori Archimandrite in jeweled robes directed crossbowmen firing magnesium bolts, while technicians in gas masks fed artillery shells into a brass-and-iron breechloader. In the center, a pulsating purple rift hovered above an altar made of melted-down AK-47s. The explosion was silent

He tapped a command. “Initiate Echo Protocol.” When his vision cleared, the Cathedral was a crater

The temporal displacement wasn’t perfect. It never was. The Echo Corps—soldiers ripped from their native eras—suffered psychological fractures. Some saw ghosts of their original wars. Others simply shut down. But the Grigori had their own chrono-sorcerers: priests who sang hymns over resonance crystals, pulling knights from the Crusades and lining them up beside Panzer IVs.